


From Dusk to Dawn

by shadowshrike



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest Spoilers, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 11:34:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6564577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowshrike/pseuds/shadowshrike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following Corrin to Nohr had been a grave mistake, and now Kaze could never return home. All he could do was pray for light to find him in the darkness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Dusk to Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> A very weird one-shot because I'm still having severe writer's block on my main stories. This is in response to a request for something more gentle and loving between Kaze and Zero.
> 
> Warning: I am not a fan of Corrin, and that comes across loud and clear in this one.

Kaze didn't remember when this had become his normal. He sat high in the barren treetops of Nohr, staring at the dying stars in its eternally dark sky while he waited. The land here smelled of stale ashes and dirt, a far cry from the faint floral scent carried by the summer’s breeze in Hoshido.

_ Hoshido... _

Gods, how he missed his home. He had followed Lady Corrin here out of guilt and misplaced trust, but now there was no way for him to return. With Nohr launching an all-out invasion of Hoshido, he might as well have been born with the black of night in his veins, for all his countrymen were concerned. When Kaze defected he had signed his own death warrant - Saizo's sense of duty would see to that, should he have the opportunity. Unlike him, his twin would be loyal to the last.

That was one of the rare things Kaze used to pride himself on, his loyalty. A burning purpose alight in his breast, guiding his hands, his blades, his heart. When guilt threatened to consume him, it was loyalty that kept him moving forward. It gave him meaning.

But now, having seen the soul-crushing realities of Nohr first-hand, he felt even that slip away, leaving only numbness in its wake.

Corrin was no noble savior. Where he had glimpsed compassion in the past, she now rode headfirst into the fires of open war. She was too weak and too naive to stand against Garon, and he was a fool for trusting in her. Kaze should have recognized her folly months ago when it was not her hand, but Leo's, that saved him from Garon’s mindless cruelty. In fact, it was only by virtue of the wit and strength of her elder siblings that Corrin survived to this day.

If there was any light in this blighted land, it was the royal family. Kaze found it odd that they went to such lengths to make him feel welcome: Elise challenged him to childish games so she could tease out a smile, Camilla doted on him with curious affection during their tea parties, and even the imperious crown prince spoke and sparred with him to the point where Kaze might hesitantly call them friends. But even all their kindness was small comfort against the crushing loneliness and regret which haunted Kaze's every step in Nohr.

Strangely, it was Leo, the youngest prince, the strategist, the man who had saved him from execution at the foot of the Nohrian throne, who proved his savior amongst the royal family. Although he didn’t often try to talk with the ninja himself, he had inadvertently given Kaze the greatest weapon a man could ask for against the numbness steadily spreading through his soul.

"I've always wondered...Who did you have to kill to have the darkness love you so? It caresses you so intimately, I can't help but be jealous," a liquid voice purred from beside him. Usually his companion complained about having to climb trees to get to Kaze; he must have been in a particularly good mood today.

"Too many people," Kaze answered dully.

"In a sullen mood, I see. Perhaps there is something I can do to alleviate your discomfort?" A world-weary hand trailed seductively down from his shoulder, coming to rest on the bare stretch of Kaze's chest.

This was often the point at which he'd yield to the other's advances without a word. Sensual touches and heated petting always gave way to more passionate endeavors as the evening progressed. They would gorge on physical pleasures, drowning in a wild rut that only base creatures like them could truly appreciate. They could force their bodies to feel what their hearts dared not. Ecstasy would wash away the guilt, the pain, and the memories. In that moment, they would be sated. They would find peace.

But tonight, something held him back from the mindless release promised by the palm splayed on his chest. Kaze's hand raised to rest gently on the back of the other. He turned to meet the clear blue eye of his companion, currently sparkling with curiosity at the ninja's change of script.

"There is something. If you are willing."

"Have I ever been unwilling with you?"

A smile threatened to form on Kaze's lips, despite the emptiness that ached in his hollow chest. Mindful of the delicate branch beneath them, he turned to face the his companion and wound a gloved hand through soft white locks. Kaze saw that sapphire eye widen the moment before his lips met the other's. They shared a kiss as they never had before. Soft, gentle, tender. Loving?

A pinprick of something tingled in him.

The two parted only a fraction, lips still languidly tugging at one another as they breathed shuddering breaths of the same air. Kaze's hand tangled further in that curled hair and found the knot he'd been looking for. The echoes of their kiss held his companion spellbound as Kaze wordlessly untied the last secret between them. The eyepatch fell away, forgotten.

"So this is what it will take to satisfy you, tonight." It was almost a question.

Kaze's fingertips traced the velvety, untouched skin of Zero's mangled eye, memorizing the texture of its scars. He stroked it as if coveting a precious treasure. In many ways, to Kaze, that’s exactly what it was.

"Yes, Zero. This is what I desire, if you are willing," he murmured.

Zero chuckled so softly Kaze almost thought it a dream.

"Have I ever been unwilling with you?"

In their next kiss, the numbness faded. And on a bleak, cold night in a land of shadows, the tiniest sliver of light sparked anew in two hearts once lost to the dark.

  
  



End file.
